After a day of relaxing to recover from a bit of traveller's sickness in Vietienne, Justin felt his normal 80% again, so we headed over to Vietnam. Continuing the tradition, the trip between the two countries can be most charitably described as unpleasant. We boarded the bus at 5 p.m., along with other backpackers, many locals, and a good amount of merchandise. The buses are used for transport of goods as well as people, so the aisles were jammed with mats and boxes bound for Hanoi. Adding to the fun, we stopped from 2-6 a.m. at a cafe parking lot to wait for the border to open. Why didn't we just leave four hours later? Such are the wonderful mysteries of Asian travel. A mere 20 hours later, we arrived in Vinh, Vietnam. Thoughtfully, the bus
... read more